Chapter Five
Gal. 5:1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty which Christ has given us,
You are not the ones, he says, who freed yourselves, but the One Who gave a ransom for you. How then after this do you subject yourselves to the lordship of the law against the intention of Christ Who freed you? By saying "stand firm," he made it known that they were wavering.
Gal. 5:1. And do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.
By the word 'yoke' he points to the heaviness of slavery under the law. And by the expression 'again' he exposes their insensibility, since they, despite knowing the heaviness of slavery from experience, again voluntarily pass into it.
Gal. 5:2. Behold, I, Paul, say to you: if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
Instead of any proof, the apostle appeals to his own authority. Christ no longer benefits the one who is circumcised, because such a person rejects His grace and turns to the law as a benefactor, and does not believe in Christ at all, as if He had not bestowed any benefit upon him. And not believing, he cannot receive benefit from the One in Whom he does not believe.
Gal. 5:3. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised, that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.
Lest anyone think that this is said out of enmity, he adds: I am declaring this not only to you, but to everyone who is circumcised, that you are laying a great burden upon yourselves. The ordinances of the law are closely connected with one another, and if you acknowledge even a small portion of the law and subject yourself to this yoke, then you subject yourself to the dominion of the entire law. For circumcision requires a sacrifice and is appointed to a certain day, and the sacrifice requires a place, a manner of offering, and purifications. For an unclean person cannot offer sacrifices. Purifications in turn require the fulfillment of other legal prescriptions. Do you see how the one who has rejected Christ not only receives no benefit from Him, but also subjects himself to countless burdens? If the law is master, then fulfill everything, but if not, then do not accept even a portion of it.
Gal. 5:4. You who justify yourselves by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace,
That is, you have no communion with Christ: you who think to obtain justification in the law have fallen from grace, which truly justifies. It is a great misfortune when you will not receive what the law promises, and you lose what grace gives.
Gal. 5:5. But we through the Spirit wait and hope for righteousness by faith.
We, he says, believers, hope to receive justification not in the law, but in the Holy Spirit. In what way? By faith. Therefore, one must submit to the guidance of faith, then by the descent of the Holy Spirit receive the forgiveness of sins and be deemed worthy of justification in baptism.
Gal. 5:6. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any power, but faith working through love.
Previously he said that circumcision is ruinous, so how does he now consider it indifferent? In our opinion, he is speaking here about circumcision that preceded faith; he is saying, as it were: for those who have entered the New Covenant, there is no benefit if they are circumcised, and no harm if they are not circumcised. For everything consists in faith working through love, that is, in faith which must always be active and alive in love for Christ. By this he also indicates that although they had believed, they had not grown strong in love for Christ and as a result turned back again to the law, or else he is instructing them in love for their neighbor. And at the same time he shows that their deceivers too, if they had love for them, would not have dared to do this. So learn that faith becomes active through love, that is, it is alive, while faith that does not have love is inactive — similar to what is said: "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20).
Gal. 5:7. You were running well: who hindered you, that you should not obey the truth?
This is not a question, but a lament. He says: you had attained perfection, but what happened? Who gained such power as to hinder you from obeying not the evangelical truth, but the abolished law?
Gal. 5:8. This persuasion is not from Him who calls you.
That is, this attention to deceivers is not from Christ; for He did not call you to that end, that you should give heed to those who incline toward Judaism.
Gal. 5:9. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
Lest they say: "why do you rebuke us so strongly (for we have violated only one commandment) and exaggerate our guilt?" – he says that this seemingly insignificant circumstance causes substantial harm. For, just as leaven, even a small amount, by itself leavens and transforms the entire lump of dough, so too circumcision, although it constitutes only one commandment, draws you into Judaism in all its fullness.
Gal. 5:10. I am confident about you in the Lord, that you will not think otherwise;
I am confident in you, he says, because I know my disciples, I know your capacity for correction. So then, I hope that you can be corrected. I also hope in the Lord, Who does not desire the destruction of any person whatsoever. Thus, he urges them both to apply their own efforts and to hope in the Lord. For it is otherwise impossible to receive anything from God — if you do not apply, he says, your own diligence.
Gal. 5:10. But he who troubles you, whoever he may be, shall bear his judgment (κρίμα).
Though you, he says, will be corrected, those who deceived you will not on account of this be freed from punishment, but will be subjected to judgment, no matter how great and worthy of trust they may seem. For this is what the words mean: whoever he may be. And he says this so that others too would not believe them.